How Heat-Not-Burn Tobacco Is Regulated in Canada

Heated tobacco sits in an awkward place. It looks a bit like a vape, uses a battery-powered device, and gives off an aerosol rather than smoke. But the thing being heated is real tobacco, and Canadian law follows the tobacco.

What they are

A Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) article describes heated tobacco products, also called heat-not-burn products, as devices that heat tobacco sticks into an aerosol that the user inhales. The same article says the product type was introduced to the Canadian market in 2017.

The contrast with a vape is the ingredient. A vape heats a liquid and, as Health Canada puts it, vaping products do not contain tobacco. A heated tobacco device heats leaf tobacco. For the vape side, see vaping laws in Canada.

Where the law puts them

The PHAC article states that heated tobacco is regulated under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act. In practice that means tobacco rules apply: the federal offence of furnishing a tobacco product to a young person (under 18), the provincial minimum ages in the legal smoking age guide, and the packaging regulations.

Three federal details are worth knowing.

• Health warnings on packages. Before 2023 these products were not subject to package labelling requirements. The Regulations Amending the Tobacco Products Regulations (Plain and Standardized Appearance), SOR/2023-97, registered on 19 May 2023 and in force on 1 August 2023, require health warnings and toxicity information on packages of tobacco intended for use with devices, and on the devices and their parts. See health warnings on cigarette packages for how the system works.
• Carton warnings. SOR/2024-137, registered on 17 June 2024, sets warning rules for cartons, including cartons of tobacco products intended for use with devices. Manufacturers could sell non-conforming cartons until 31 July 2026. Retailers can sell them until 31 October 2026, a few days from this page’s review date.
• Reporting gap. Health Canada’s second legislative review of the Act noted that the Tobacco Reporting Regulations do not require manufacturers to report on products made of tobacco for use with a device, naming heated tobacco as an example.

We did not find a Health Canada page that authorizes any heated tobacco product as a reduced-risk product or as a way to quit smoking, and none should be assumed.

What the evidence says

The PHAC article is a research paper on youth use, so it summarizes the health evidence only briefly. It reports that levels of carcinogens and toxicants produced are lower than those from cigarettes, which follows from heating instead of burning. It also cites a systematic review that found a positive correlation between heated tobacco use and the incidence of respiratory complications. And it concludes that, given the novelty of the products, research on long-term health effects is limited.

Put together: lower exposure to some toxicants than a cigarette, no authorization as a quit aid that we could find, and an incomplete picture of long-term harm. Anyone who smokes and wants to stop has better-studied options in the medications guide.

Related products

Nicotine pouches are a separate product with a different regulatory route. Health Canada authorizes them only as a quit-smoking aid, as explained in nicotine pouches in Canada.